What About Love?
by jennylovestowrite
Summary: Just a little one-shot that I wrote when the idea popped into my head where Hermione reflects on her feelings for Draco.


A/N: Another little one-shot/song fic of mine that I sat down and wrote out as I listened to the song.

_All Harry Potter universe related belongs to J.K. Rowling. _

_Song "What About Love" lyrics belong to Heart and the respective song writers._

* * *

"_It isn't you, it's me, I promise. And it isn't even so much me… it's my parents. They've decided that I need be matched for a pureblood marriage. They won't hear of anything else. I'm sorry." _

No matter how many times Hermione re-ran the words through her head, it didn't make it hurt any less. In fact, each time seemed to turn the knife further and further into her heart. She had never felt so lonely in her life, as though she were all alone in the world, and there was no one she could turn to, no one that would truly understand. She tried to go on with her life in the best way that she knew how, and that was by pretending that everything was alright.

"_How are you holding up?" Harry had asked her, only a few days ago. He had been the only person who knew about her secret relationship with Draco. She knew that she had to confide in someone, and Harry was the perfect person. She put on a smile and said, lying through her teeth, "I'm fine. You shouldn't even have to ask me that. It was… a passing phase. We're too different. You know that, I know that, and he knows that. It never would have worked out anyway." It was only after he had left and she was once again completely alone did she allow the tears to fall. She had kidded herself at first, that he would come back. But as days turned to weeks, she knew that she was only setting herself up for further heartbreak. _

_**I've been lonely, I've been waiting for you**_

_**I'm pretending and that's all I can do**_

_**The love that I'm sending**_

_**Ain't making it through to your heart**_

Even though she had known that it was coming - how could she not? The Malfoy family never did _anything _in a simple manner. And something as elaborate as an engagement? She knew that they would go to any lengths to pull it off. But when she opened the Daily Prophet that morning and saw the engagement picture there, staring up at her, the tears began to fall.

By this point, it wasn't even so much her own feelings she was thinking of, but the fact that she could see in his eyes that Draco wasn't happy. He thought he was good at hiding his real feelings, never showing them to anyone - except her.

"_What are you doing in here, Granger?" he yelled out, when he glanced in the mirror above the sink and saw her reflection staring back at him. She knew she should have left then, but she couldn't. it was if her feet had been frozen to the floor. Through their reflections, their eyes had met, and stayed locked. Rather than leave as he had asked her to, she stayed, and moved closer. So close, in fact, that they were almost touching. He had grown rigid as she had placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm here for you if you need to talk to someone." _

She shook her head as the memories melted away. It was so ironic how an accidental meeting could have started something so life changing. He took her up on the offer and that was where it had all began.

_They had met in secret. He had sent her an owl asking her to meet him at the Shrieking Shack. For a reason that she could only convince herself was because she a temporarily mental moment, she agreed. After all, she had been the one to say that she would listen. But when she realized that he had really and truly taken her up on her offer, she'd been terrified. What had she gotten herself into? As he approached her, she felt herself shaking. "I hope your offer still stands," he told her, not taking his gaze off the floor. Before she could stop herself, she held out her hand. "It still stands."_

_**You've been hiding, never letting it show**_

_**Always trying to keep it under control**_

_**You got it down and you're well **_

_**On your way to the top**_

_**But there's something that you forgot**_

She wiped her eyes again as she looked at the paper.

"Local Engagement Announced" read the headline.

"_Jasper and Florence Greengrass are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Astoria Marie, to Draco Lucius Malfoy, son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy." _

She knew he could have done worse. After all, the Greengrass family were almost as prestigiously known as the Malfoy family, and definitely as well off. Astoria was even a nice person. That was what made it so hard. She wasn't someone who could be easily hated.

"_You're Hermione Granger, aren't you?" Hermione had looked up in surprise. She was browsing in Flourish and Botts when the voice seemed to come out of nowhere. Then she froze when she realized who was talking to her. She merely nodded, knowing that she would cry if she tried to say anything. _

"_It's so nice to finally meet you," she had gushed. '"I've heard nothing but wonderful things about you." Then, catching herself, she paused "Where are my manners? I'm Astoria Greengrass." _

_Hermione nodded in return, placing the book she had been looking at back on the shelf. She had lost her appetite for reading. She could only wonder how mention of her came up in conversation between Draco and Astoria, and the moment the thought came into her mind, she dismissed it, knowing that she didn't want to know. _

"_That's one of my favourites," Astoria exclaimed, startling Hermione once again. After more polite small talk, Hermione made her way home. _

_Why did Astoria have to be such a nice person? Why couldn't she be an evil troll so she could hate her? _

_A tap at the window pulled her out of her thoughts as an unmistakeable brown eagle owl flew in the room, with a package attached. She read the note first. _

_Hermione, _

_Astoria mentioned she met you today, and that you were looking at this book. I wanted to get it for you, as one last gif from me, so you would have something to remember me by." _

_Draco_

She pulled the book off the shelf and held it close to her. It was, as he had said something to remember him by, but she wished she didn't need to. Somehow it actually made her feel worse.

"_We can't, we can't be together anymore," he told her, looking at the ground. _

"_What are you talking about?" she said. She tried to catch his eye, but he avoided it. _

_He sat down, and gestured for her to sit beside him. _

_Once she was seated, that was when he finally looked at her. _

"_My parents have arranged a marriage for me. The wedding is supposed to take place in the spring." _

_She was at a loss for words. "When did you find out?" was all that she could whisper out. _

"_It's been in the works for years. It's only now, that we are of marriageable age that they are going forward with the arrangements."_

_Hurt. Shock. Anger. All were feelings that Hermione felt at that moment, but she couldn't quite say which was the most predominant at the moment. _

_Anger won out as she reached out and slapped him. _

"_Why?" she cried. "Why didn't you at least say something before? Didn't you think I had a right to know?"_

_He hung his head as she kept ranting. _

"_You were my… I let you…" she stumbled over the words as emotions overtook her. _

"_I told you I loved you,'" she whispered. "And I thought you felt the same." _

_Again, he said nothing, knowing that there was nothing he could say to change the fact that everything that she was saying was true. _

"_That night," she whispered. "When you made love to me under the moonlight and told me I was the only one for you, did you mean it or was that you just saying what you knew I wanted to hear?"_

"_Hermione, I never wanted to - " _

"_Save it," she said, he voice shaking. "I'm sure you're the one who's having the last laugh now. Talking about the naïve little "mud blood" behind her back and how you turned her into your whore?"_

_The tears were streaming down but she didn't bother trying to stop them. _

_He reached out and wiped her tears away, and she reached out to slap his hand away but he caught her hand in his. _

"_Please, I don't want it to be like this. I don't want to end this - us - on a bad note. I meant every word of it when I said, Hermione. I wasn't lying when I told you I loved you."_

_That was when she forced herself to ask the question that she knew that she had to have the answer to. _

"_Do you love her?" _

_**What about love?**_

_**Don't you want someone to care about you?**_

_**And what about love?**_

_**Don't let it slip away**_

_**What about love?**_

_**I only want to share it with you**_

_**You might need it some day**_

It hurt more than anything for her to look at the picture of them in the Prophet, but at the same time, she couldn't drag her eyes away.

_**I can't tell you what you're feeling inside**_

_**I can't sell you what you don't want to buy**_

_**Somethings missing and you got to**_

_**Look back on your life**_

_**You know something here just ain't right**_

She knew that she shouldn't have come. After all, what was the point? All she was doing was hurting herself. Nevertheless she tiptoed around the perimeter of the property, watching as the engagement party took place around her. That was when she realized that she knew why she had to be there. She had to see for herself that he was happy, that he was going to be happier with Astoria than he could ever be with her, and once she had proof of that, she was going to go, and never look back.

_**What about love**_

_**Don't you want someone to care about you**_

_**What about love**_

_**Don't let it slip away**_

_**What about love**_

_**I only want to share it with you**_

Then she saw him. He had a smile on his face, as he lifted his glass in a toast, along with Astoria, and his parents, and her parents.

That was enough to answer her questions. She tried to leave as quickly as she had arrived, slipping through the hedges outlining the back garden.

"Hermione! Wait!"

She froze. She would know that voice anywhere. But why now? Why here?

"What?" she whispered as he gently turned her shoulders so that she was facing him as she tried to wipe away her tears.

"You' were right," he said. "It's _my _life - not my parents. It's my life and I only want to share it with _you_."

_**What about love**_

_**Don't you want someone to care about you**_

_**What about love**_

_**Don't let it slip away**_

_**What about love**_

_**I only want to share it with you**_

* * *

A/N: I think this is my favourite one shot to write. I've had the idea running around in my head for awhile, it just took some time to get the direction of the story to flow. And just for the record, that IS a happy ending. Draco calls off the engagement, he and Hermione get together and Astoria finds someone else that makes her just as happy.

Was it too weird for Astoria to introduce herself to Hermione in the bookstore? After all, she didn't know that Draco and Hermione had a relationship, at least at that point. I just wanted to put that in there to show why she was so hard to hate and how Hermione would have conflicting feelings toward her.


End file.
